What is Apex?
Apex is a programming language developed by Salesforce that is strongly typed and object-oriented. It is integrated with the Lightning Platform, which is Salesforce’s app development platform. This means that Apex can execute flow and transaction control statements on Salesforce servers, in conjunction with calls to the API.
Apex is designed to be easy to use, with a syntax that is similar to Java. This includes variable and expression syntax, block and conditional statement syntax, loop syntax, and object and array notation. It’s also data-focused, meaning it’s designed to thread together multiple query and data manipulation language (DML) statements into a single unit of work on the Salesforce server.
One of the key features of Apex is that it is rigorous. It’s a strongly typed language that uses direct references to schema objects such as object and field names. If any references are invalid, it fails quickly at compile time. Apex is also hosted, meaning it’s interpreted, executed, and controlled entirely by the Lightning Platform.
Apex is also multitenant aware. Like the rest of the Lightning Platform, Apex runs in a multitenant environment. The Apex runtime engine is designed to guard closely against runaway code, preventing it from monopolizing shared resources.
Finally, Apex is used to add business logic to most system events. This includes button clicks, related record updates, and Visualforce pages. It can be initiated by web service requests and from triggers on objects. It’s used to build Software as a Service (SaaS) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications, providing back-end database support and client-server interfaces.
Key Features
Apex is a strongly typed, object-oriented programming language that allows developers to execute flow and transaction control statements on Salesforce servers in conjunction with calls to the API. Here are some key features of Apex:
Integrated: Apex is built into the Salesforce platform. It supports Salesforce’s data manipulation language (DML) calls, which are used to retrieve, insert, update, or delete data. It also supports Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) and Salesforce Object Search Language (SOSL) queries, which are used to search for specific data.
Easy to Use: Apex is based on Java, so if you’re familiar with Java, you’ll find Apex easy to understand. It uses similar syntax for variables, expressions, statements, loops, and arrays.
Data Focused: Apex is designed to handle multiple database operations in a single transaction. This means you can execute multiple queries and data manipulation statements as a single unit of work.
Rigorous: Apex is a strongly typed language, which means you have to declare the data type of a variable when you declare it. It also uses direct references to schema objects, such as object and field names. If any references are invalid, Apex will fail at compile time, not at runtime.
Hosted: Apex code is stored, executed, and managed entirely on the Salesforce platform. You don’t need to install any additional software to run Apex code.
Multitenant Aware: Apex runs in a multitenant environment, which means it shares resources with other users in the same instance. The Apex runtime engine ensures that no single piece of code can monopolize shared resources.
Automatic Upgrades: When Salesforce is upgraded, your Apex code is automatically upgraded too. You don’t need to do anything to keep your code up to date.
Database Integration: Apex is integrated with the Salesforce database. This means you can access and manipulate data directly, without needing to establish a database connection.
Testing Support: Apex provides built-in support for unit testing. You can write test methods to verify whether your code is working as expected.
These features make Apex a powerful tool for customizing Salesforce and adding business logic to your applications.
When Should You Use Apex?
Apex is a programming language that allows developers to execute flow and transaction control statements on the Salesforce Lightning platform server. It’s particularly useful when you need to create and expose web services or automate email services. Apex is also beneficial when you need to perform complex validations over multiple objects or records, or when you need to create complex business processes that are not supported by Flow Builder.
Moreover, Apex can be used to create custom transactional logic, which refers to logic that occurs over the entire transaction, not just with a single record or object. If you need to execute some logic every time a certain operation occurs, regardless of whether it originates in the user interface, a Visualforce page, or from SOAP API, Apex can be used to do this.
However, it’s important to remember that Apex should not be the first tool you reach for when building automation on Salesforce. The platform’s built-in features, such as validation rules and record-triggered flows, can provide better performance and are generally easier to maintain over time.
Why Should You Use Apex?
Apex is a language that Salesforce developed. It’s deeply integrated with Salesforce, providing built-in support for Salesforce’s own data manipulation language calls, queries, and bulk processing. This makes it a very handy tool for developers working within the Salesforce ecosystem.
One of the great things about Apex is that it’s based on Java, which is a language many developers are already familiar with. This makes Apex relatively easy to pick up and use.
Apex is also very data-focused. It provides transactional access to the database, which means you can roll back operations if needed. It’s designed to thread together multiple query and DML statements into a single unit of work on the Salesforce server.
Apex is a rigorous language. It’s strongly typed and uses direct references to schema objects. If any references are invalid, it fails quickly at compile time. This helps to ensure the integrity of your code.
Another key feature of Apex is that it’s hosted. The entire language is interpreted, executed, and controlled by the Salesforce Lightning Platform. This means you don’t have to worry about managing your own servers or infrastructure.
Finally, Apex is multitenant aware. It runs in a multitenant environment and the Apex runtime engine is designed to guard against runaway code. This prevents it from monopolizing shared resources.
In summary, Apex is a powerful tool that extends Salesforce’s functionality. It allows developers to add business logic to most system events, including button clicks, related record updates, and Visualforce pages. This enables the creation of custom cloud-based software applications. It’s a key part of Salesforce’s robust offering.
Use Cases of Apex
Apex can be used in a variety of scenarios to extend the functionality of Salesforce. Here are some examples:
Sure, let’s break down those Apex use cases:
Task Creation Upon Opportunity Stage Change: In Salesforce, an “Opportunity” is a potential sales deal. Now, let’s say you want to automatically create a task for your sales team whenever the stage of an opportunity changes (for example, from ‘Prospecting’ to ‘Negotiation’). You can write an Apex trigger to do this. The trigger would fire when the stage of an opportunity changes, and it would create a new task record related to that opportunity.
Updating Contact Owners: In Salesforce, an “Account” is a company that you’re doing business with, and “Contacts” are the people who work at that company. If the owner of an account changes, you might want to also change the owner of all the contacts associated with that account. An Apex trigger can automate this process. The trigger would fire when the owner of an account changes, and it would update the owner field on all related contact records.
System Administrator Privileges: Apex can be used to enforce security rules. For example, you might want to restrict the deletion of case records to only system administrators. You can write an Apex trigger that fires before a case record is deleted. The trigger would check the role of the current user, and if the user is not a system administrator, it would prevent the deletion.
Preventing Account Deletion: Similarly, you might want to prevent the deletion of an account under certain conditions. For example, you could write an Apex trigger that prevents the deletion of an account if it has related cases, or if it was created more than 7 days ago.
Batch Processing: Apex can be used to perform operations on large sets of data. For example, you might want to clean up old records or send out emails to a large number of contacts. You can write an Apex batch class to do this. The batch class would query for the records you want to operate on, and then operate on each record.
Apex Recipes: Apex Recipes is a library of concise, meaningful examples of Apex code that you can use as a starting point for your own code. Each recipe is a self-contained example that shows how to accomplish a specific task with Apex. You can use the recipes as-is, or modify them to suit your needs.
How does Apex Work?
Apex is a programming language developed by Salesforce that allows developers to execute flow and transaction control statements on Salesforce servers. It’s integrated with the Lightning Platform, providing built-in support for common idioms, including data manipulation language (DML) calls, inline Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) and Salesforce Object Search Language (SOSL) queries, and custom public API calls.
Apex is easy to use as it is based on familiar Java idioms. It’s a strongly typed language that uses direct references to schema objects such as object and field names. This means it fails quickly at compile time if any references are invalid.
The language is designed to thread together multiple query and DML statements into a single unit of work on the Salesforce server. It’s hosted and interpreted, executed, and controlled entirely by the Lightning Platform. Apex runs in a multitenant environment, and the Apex runtime engine is designed to guard closely against runaway code, preventing it from monopolizing shared resources.
Apex code can be initiated by web service requests and from triggers on objects. It runs on the lightning platform of Salesforce which can automate business processes and deliver custom user interfaces. The code is run, compiled, and stored only on Salesforce’s lightning platform. Developers write Apex code and it is executed by the end users by triggering it with the help of the user interface.
History of Apex
Apex is a programming language developed by Salesforce that is proprietary, strongly typed, and object-oriented. It was introduced with the Winter ’07 release initially for internal use at Salesforce and later shared with larger customers after a short phase of beta tests. The name Apex stands for Advanced Programming Experience. It was designed to provide an additional layer of abstraction over database transactions, handle them, and enable simple data transformation into objects. Apex was not designed for building user interfaces; its primary purpose was to manage database transactions.
In 2012, Salesforce presented its first Apex language compiler. However, it wasn’t a compiler as we think of it now because all compilation operations were done in the cloud, specifically on the Force.com platform.
Apex is integrated with the Lightning Platform and provides built-in support for common Lightning Platform idioms, including data manipulation language (DML) calls, inline Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) and Salesforce Object Search Language (SOSL) queries, looping for bulk processing of multiple records at a time, and custom public API calls.
Apex is based on familiar Java idioms, such as variable and expression syntax, block and conditional statement syntax, loop syntax, object and array notation. It is designed to thread together multiple query and DML statements into a single unit of work on the Salesforce server.
Like the rest of the Lightning Platform, Apex runs in a multitenant environment. The Apex runtime engine is designed to guard closely against runaway code, preventing it from monopolizing shared resources.
What is the Apex Development Process?
Choose a Development Environment for Apex: There are several development environments you can use for developing Apex code. Here are some of the popular ones:
Developer Console: This is a built-in development environment within Salesforce. It is a collection of tools that allows you to create, debug, and test applications in your Salesforce organization. Here are some of its key features:
- Code Writing: You can write code using the source code editor. It also allows you to browse packages in your organization.
- Code Compilation: The code is automatically compiled when you save a trigger or class. Any compilation errors are reported.
- Debugging: It provides tools to view debug logs and set checkpoints, which are helpful in debugging.
- Testing: You can execute tests of specific test classes or all tests in your organization, and view the test results.
- Performance Checking: You can inspect debug logs to locate performance bottlenecks.
- SOQL Queries: It includes a Query Editor that allows you to query data in your organization and view the results.
- Color Coding and Autocomplete: The source code editor uses a color scheme for easier readability of code elements and provides auto-completion for class and method names.
Salesforce Extensions for Visual Studio Code: This is a set of tools for developing on the Salesforce platform in the lightweight, extensible VS Code editor. Here are some of its key features:
- Rapid Creation of Apex Classes, Test Classes, and Triggers: This allows for quick development and prototyping.
- Variety of Debuggers: It provides a choice between various debuggers to meet your specific debugging requirements.
- Execution of Anonymous Apex: This feature allows for quick testing and debugging of Apex code.
Code Editor in the Salesforce User Interface: This is a basic code editor within the Salesforce user interface. It only supports writing code and doesn’t support debugging. Here are some of its key features:
- Code Writing: All classes and triggers are compiled when they are saved, and any syntax errors are flagged.
- Code Compilation: You cannot save your code until it compiles without errors.
Line Numbering and Color Coding: The Salesforce user interface numbers the lines in the code and uses color coding to distinguish different elements, such as comments, keywords, literal strings, etc.
Apex Basics and Database
Apex is a programming language that Salesforce developed. It’s quite similar to Java in its syntax and is used to add custom business logic to Salesforce applications. It’s like the stored procedures in a database, as it runs directly on Salesforce servers.
In Apex, you’ll come across something called sObjects. These represent objects in Salesforce. For example, an Account or a custom object you’ve created. You can interact with these objects in Apex, much like you would interact with tables in a database.
When you’re working with data in Salesforce through Apex, you use what’s called DML operations. DML stands for Data Manipulation Language. This includes operations like insert, update, delete, etc., which allow you to create, update, and delete records.
To query data in Salesforce, you use SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language) and SOSL (Salesforce Object Search Language). SOQL is used to query a single object, while SOSL is used to search text across multiple objects.
Finally, if you’re looking to learn more about these topics, Salesforce has an online learning platform called Trailhead. It offers modules on various topics, including Apex. The “Apex Basics & Database” module is a good starting point to learn about Apex, sObjects, DML, and SOQL/SOSL queries.
Apex Triggers
Triggers are essentially procedures that are automatically executed whenever a specific event occurs in the database. They are written in Apex, which is Salesforce’s proprietary programming language. You can define these triggers for top-level standard objects like Account or Contact, custom objects, and some standard child objects.
Triggers can be executed before or after operations such as insert, update, delete, merge, upsert, and undelete. Triggers are typically used to update or validate record values before they’re saved to the database. On the other hand, after triggers are used to access field values that are set by the system, such as a record’s Id or LastModifiedDate field, and to affect changes in other records.
The power of Apex Triggers lies in their ability to modify other records of the same type as the records that initially fired the trigger. They can perform operations based on specific conditions, modify related records, or even restrict certain operations from happening. Essentially, they can do anything you can do in Apex, including executing SOQL and DML or calling custom Apex methods.
However, it’s important to note that triggers have their limitations. For instance, triggers can cause other records to change, and these changes can, in turn, fire more triggers. The Apex runtime engine considers all such operations a single unit of work and sets limits on the number of operations that can be performed to prevent infinite recursion. If you update or delete a record in its before trigger, or delete a record in its after trigger, you will receive a runtime error. Therefore, before creating triggers, it’s recommended to consider using validation rules and flows if validating a field value or updating a field on a record.
Here’s a simple example of an Apex Trigger:
trigger HelloWorldTrigger on Account (before insert) {
System.debug(‘Hello World!’);
}
This trigger fires before an account is inserted and writes a message to the debug log. It’s a simple demonstration of how Apex Triggers work in Salesforce.
Apex Integration Services
Apex Integration Services is a feature in Salesforce that enables it to connect with external systems using web services and APIs. It primarily serves two functions. The first is making callouts from Salesforce to SOAP or REST endpoints, which allows Salesforce to communicate with external systems using SOAP and REST APIs.
The key components of Apex Integration Services include Apex REST Callouts, Apex SOAP Callouts, and Apex Web Services. Apex REST Callouts are used to integrate Salesforce with external RESTful services. Apex SOAP Callouts are used to integrate Salesforce with external SOAP services. Apex Web Services are used to expose Apex methods as custom SOAP and REST services.
Salesforce’s Trailhead learning platform and the Salesforce Developer Guide are great resources to learn more about Apex Integration Services. There’s also a GitHub repository that provides examples of Apex REST Callouts, Apex SOAP Callouts, and Apex Web Services.
Apex Testing
Apex Testing is all about ensuring the quality of your Apex code on the Salesforce Lightning Platform. It’s a testing framework that lets you write and run tests, check the results, and even get code coverage results. The data used in Apex tests is temporary and doesn’t get saved to the database.
You can run these tests in various ways, such as through the Developer Console, in Setup, in the Salesforce extensions for Visual Studio Code, or using the API. When you run tests, the Apex testing framework generates code coverage numbers for your Apex classes and triggers.
One of the great things about Apex is that it provides a stub API for implementing a mocking framework. This can make your testing process more streamlined and reliable.
If you want to learn more about Apex Testing, there are resources like the Apex Developer Guide and Salesforce Trailhead. These provide modules on Apex Testing and can be a good starting point if you’re new to this.
Asynchronous Apex
Asynchronous Apex in Salesforce is a powerful feature that allows you to run Apex code in the background, which can help improve the performance of your applications. It includes several key features.
Queueable Apex is used to start a long-running operation and get an ID for it. It allows you to pass complex types to a job and chain jobs.
Scheduled Apex allows you to schedule an Apex class to run at specific times.
Batch Apex is used for long-running jobs that need to be performed in batches, such as database maintenance jobs.
Future Methods are used when you have a long-running method and need to prevent delaying an Apex transaction.
Each of these features has its own use cases and benefits. For example, Queueable Apex is an enhanced way of running your asynchronous Apex code compared to using future methods. Asynchronous Apex is particularly useful when making callouts to external web services, running processes that require higher governor limits, or when you need to run code at a specific time.
The choice of which asynchronous feature to use depends on your specific needs and the nature of the task you’re trying to accomplish. It’s also important to note that Asynchronous Apex is a feature in Salesforce that allows you to run Apex code in the background, freeing up resources and improving the performance of your applications.
Debugging, Testing, and Deploying Apex
Debugging Apex Debugging is the process of identifying and fixing errors in your code. In Apex, you can use tools like the Developer Console and debug logs to help find and resolve these issues. The Developer Console is a set of tools within Salesforce that helps you create, debug, and test applications.
Testing Apex Testing is crucial to ensure that your code works as expected and to prevent bugs. Apex provides a testing framework for this purpose. You write unit tests which are pieces of code that test other code in your application. Salesforce requires that at least 75% of your Apex code is covered by these tests, and all tests must pass successfully.
Deploying Apex Deployment is the process of moving code from a development environment to a production environment. In Salesforce, you develop Apex code in a sandbox or a Developer Edition org, not directly in the production org. Once your code is ready, you can distribute it to customers.
Distributing Apex Using Managed Packages If you’re an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) or a Salesforce partner, you can distribute your Apex code to customer organizations using something called managed packages.